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There’s a fine line between winning and losing for the Regina Pats these days.

The WHL club landed on the wrong side of that line again on Friday night, dropping its fourth straight game with a 4-1 setback against the Calgary Hitmen before 4,360 fans on Breast Cancer Awareness Night at the Brandt Centre.

Had Calgary’s Brooks Macek not scored two empty-net goals in the final minute, it would have been Regina’s seventh one-goal loss of the young season.

“Right now we’re having a bit of difficulty playing 60 minutes of hockey,” said captain Colton Jobke. “That has been one of our biggest issues. We’re not a high-scoring team this year so we have to do the little things right and win every puck battle and find a way to score greasy goals. Right now we’re not doing that.”

It was always assumed the Pats would have to score by committee this season following the graduation of superstar centre Jordan Weal. It hasn’t helped that the team is dealing with a series of significant injuries up front, including the absence of their top two centres, Chandler Stephenson and Trent Ouellette.

However, Jobke pointed out that the Pats’ offensive struggles start with their work in the other end of the ice, noting that the team is “getting outworked in our own zone and it’s limiting our time in the (offensive) zone.”

Head coach Pat Conacher took it a step further, lamenting an early string of turnovers which initially got the team on its heels. The Hitmen eventually capitalized and left Regina playing catchup, which has been an ongoing trend this season.

“It started from the drop of the puck in the first period,” said Conacher. “We turned the puck over in the first period — between the neutral zone and just inside their blueline — more times than we have all year. You never get any momentum (that way). You never get any territorial ground. Then they score and you’re playing from behind all the time. It can’t happen.”

After some back-and-forth action to start the contest, Calgary opened the scoring with 5:11 left in the first period when Macek sliced to the net and dropped the puck in front to Carson Samoridny, who got credit for the goal (it may have been redirected by Regina’s Morgan Klimchuk).

The visitors added a power-play marker with 3:59 left in the second period as defenceman Spencer Humphries stepped in from the point and fired a low snap shot past Matt Hewitt. Regina got it back just 1:09 later on a goal by defenceman-turned-forward Kade Pilton, who banged Adam Brooks’ centring feed past Chris Driedger.

Pressing for the equalizer, the Pats received two power plays in the third period but couldn’t capitalize. Some of the credit goes to Driedger, who made a brilliant save on Klimchuk.

The Pats eventually pulled Hewitt in favour of an extra attacker but Macek scored a pair of empty-net goals to finish off the home team, which was outshot 32-31.

“The effort was still there,” added Conacher. “It’s all the little things that pile up. We have to keep the game simple and make the other team beat us. To me, we’re still making those simple little mistakes. What happens is, all you do is chase all night long.”

The Pats weren’t without their chances to tie it, but — as Conacher pointed out — the energy needed to sustain a comeback effort wasn’t in abundance after playing catchup all night.

When opportunities did materialize, Driedger was there.

“He has been pretty good for us this year,” said Hitmen head coach Mike Williamson, whose team improved to 9-4-1-2. “We need him to be strong and weather the storm. I thought both teams had a few chances but for the most part didn’t give up a ton. When it was 2-0 after our power-play goal we lost our focus a little bit and there was a huge push from Regina. They got the one and could have easily got a second. It ended up being a very close hockey game.”

EXTRAS: The Pats held a 10-minute pre-game ceremony involving a group of local breast cancer survivors. The money raised from the game ($1 for every walk-up ticket and a silent auction for the Pats’ pink game-worn jerseys) goes to the Canadian Cancer Society for breast cancer research . . . Calgary went 1-for-1 on the power play. The Pats were 0-for-4 . . . Regina’s scratches were Stephenson (foot), Ouellette (knee), F Dryden Hunt (concussion), F Patrick D’Amico (foot) and D Colby Williams (head), along with F Ty McLean . . . The Pats are back in action at the Brandt Centre on Saturday against the Prince Albert Raiders.

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